@Crimmy@Silvan Haven@Ayazi

Silver Applegate - Airship Docks

"I see..." Despite the dread and dead eyes, Silver maintained his soft smile.

@Crimmy@Slime@Ayazi



"You uhhh, you look like a wanabe rapper." It was an awkward admission but..."A parka? Really?"

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Ayazi

Silver Applegate - Airship Docks

"I see you two work for the fashion police. Take me away, officers..." He said jokingly lifting his hands as if to get cuffed.

@Crimmy@Slime@Ayazi



There was a jangle of metal and a sudden explosion of fog. When it faded a pair of shiny new, Altesian handcuffs sat upon the proffered wrists. Beryl twirling away with a grin on her face and all but strutted towards the campus.

"Come vile criminal! We're going shopping!"

@Slime@Silvan Haven@Ayazi

Gratia Mindaro - Airship Docks

If Gratia was in any way surprised by her teammate's possession of handcuffs, none of it showed on her unchanging, flat expression. In any case, it had been a shitty joke. As much of a stain on her eyesight and good taste his clothing choices were, she would more preferably find him an outfit that didn't look like a tapeworm after it had been ripped straight out of somebody's clogged bowels.

"We'll take my car," she said, following after her teammate. "Leave your luggage at the dorm and we'll head straight for the stores."

It would reduce the time she would have to spend looking at his clothes.

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Ayazi

Silver Applegate - Airship Docks

The sudden appearance of handcuffs around Silver's hands was shocking enough for him to scream, but so fitting he couldn't muster the strength to do it. "At least let me drop off my things..." He resigned himself to his fate. "And I guess I'll take off my parka while I'm at it."

@Crimmy@Slime@Ayazi



Half an hour later they were spilling out of Gratia's armed and armored SUV (the Gatling gun was safely hidden inside the vehicle) and making their way inside one of Vale's many shopping malls. The travesty that was the parka had been left behind and Beryl's handcuffs had vanished back to wherever it was she kept them. The moneybag Vega had been hauled out of bed and was now accompanying the group, leading the way in singing several songs on the way down from Beacon.

"All right!" Beryl called out with a clap of her hands as they entered the building. "I have no idea how to shop. Gratia, lead the way!"

Hana watched the two boys greet her, with Sarina similarly greeting her.

She stared at them, waiting for something more.

But.

But...

Is that seriously it?!

"'Sup?"

Argh, the nerve of these...!!

For a moment, she pouted, frustrated with how happily carefree they were. Her first impression of her team hadn't been a particularly positive one, but they were still her team members. They probably became seniors because they were capable as Huntsmen, not because they lived solely to goof off. Had she been a freshman, she'd have instantly judged them for not being good Huntsmen, but there were probably things she did not know that they knew.

Also, she needed to calm herself as much as possible before she could reach her breaking point. She was going to be the leader of this... this straightforward bunch of fellow senior classmates. It was either getting used to it all within a year, or leaving just because she couldn't get along with a few people.

And, well...

...admittedly, they seemed more approachable than her previous team.

Her pout remained still for about a second before she glanced away, a small blush filling her cheeks. The nerve of these guys... Hana thought.

Pulling her head up, she turned back to her team.

"I-It's nothing," she mumbled in response to their simple words. "Er, actually!- What are you all up to now? I've been thinking about heading to the dorm, unless there's something else in your minds. I may be new, but I figure that as your leader, I should understand what you guys do on a daily basis. And don't think about tricking me!"

She kept her gaze on her team members, slightly lowering her caution. She still kept her arms crossed though, and her pout had only slightly softened.

_{@Crimmy@HereComesTheSnow@Ayazi}

Sterling Johnson

@NaraK@Crimmy@Ayazi

The steel-haired and steel-armed bruiser smirked wryly, folding the latter and glancing aside with the former.

"See, that's like me telling you 'don't think about elephants'." His reply was bone-dry in a cordial, teasing way. "You're gonna start thinking about elephants, Boss."

The reaction was not exactly what Diamond expected, but it was informative in its own stead. Apparently, at least one person in the world thought or knew this could be done, which sent a whole lot more of fright down her back than whatever wrath of the teacher or the other students may try to bring upon her for this, because apparently this fell into the 'bad things' bag. No, what scared the soul out of her was having half a shovel of dust fused to her nerves and somebody using it against her with as much as a thought.

Quickly composing herself, she just nodded to the teacher and went to her seat, being none too worried about the glares sent her way. She waited out the rest of the class taking notes on what was being discussed, before the rest of the students were dismissed.

This at least ought to be interesting. she thought as she waited where this would go.

"Why did you do it?"

As far as detention went, she imagined it could have been a lot worse. "To see if it could be done?" she answered. Duh? "And just form the fact that you think or know it can, I'm not going to sleep well for a few weeks, because well, in that case I'm right f*d, aren't I?" she said, making her eyes glow for a second for the emphasis. "Because in all the books and articles I read, and I did my research before having this stuff dumped into my system, nowhere is this mentioned. Unlike the most basic safety regs which say not to give unlabeled mixtures to people not educated in handling the stuff who have not been made aware of the risks, mind you. Which leaves me with two ways to think about this - Judging by the lack of hunters and military men exploding around everywhere when chasing bad guys, either there is some inherent mechanism in all of this that prevents foreign activation and Schwarz was never in any real danger in the first place, or you know something the rest of the world doesn't, and I'd very much like to know how to defend myself against this." she said, her voice a fit of a frightened shiver. It didn't take much thought to see which one was more likely, but then again, up until recently, Diamond didn't think People could be turned into Grimm, and that happened.

Amy Desire, Between Places, With Permission of @Tominas
@Krayzikk @Plank Sinatra @HereComesTheSnow

It was a strange feeling, for her to be nervous. She nodded a farewell to Lauren and Ben as they left the classroom, her note in Lauren's pack. She inhaled deeply, letting her surroundings slow, her semblance dial up to let her calm down. Diamond aside for the moment... The note was out of her hands. She shouldn't be letting herself get stressed out over something she could no longer affect.

The exhale came, and the world moved.

She headed for the door, taking the same route as Ben--though she didn't clap Luke on the back, instead just letting her hand brush against his shoulder for a moment and smiling slightly.

"I'll catch ya later too, okay?" she said, waving as she went out of the classroom. She'd like to branch out, meet people outside of BASL, and Luke seemed like a great place to start--but she had some business to attend to right now.

***

She still had the knack, as it turned out. Amy'd spotted the charms on her way out of PE--enhanced eyesight did wonders for noticing things in the grass, go figure--though she hadn't had time to catch up to Blaine before he'd left for his next class. Figuring out whose they were wasn't exactly hard, only Trad and the Lion faunus could have produced the tatters of clothing she'd found them in. Only one of those two had been in her huddle.

A part of her had hoped the big guy would be in Dust Apps, but evidently not.

That being said, given how he'd acted during the football game, he took this kinda stuff really seriously, and... The level of care he'd put into making these things was insane. How do you even convey reflections in woodwork? Regardless of whether or not he was having a full scale freak out, she figured he'd be at least back on the field looking for them--and that bet had payed off.

"Hey!", she shouted, the necklaces dangling from an outstretched hand as she advanced toward the figure on the field. "I think these are yours!"

Sand sat at one of the terminals at the CCT center, off at a slightly more isolated corner among the rows and rows of communication stations. When the screen fizzled to life, a secretary greeted her, thanking her for being there in such short notice.

“Sand Vespa, is that right?” she said, reading out her name from a screen just out of view.

“Yes,” she answered simply.

“Give me a moment to forward you.”

Sand nodded, and the CCT standby screen appeared.

Hiding a small grimace, she looked down at herself. After the repeated workouts from that day, she had taken the chance to return to the team’s room for a shower. She had replaced her usual clothes with a more casual attire consisting of blue jeans still fastened by her thick belt, a short-sleeved yellow blouse, and sneakers. Short in time as she had been, she had foregone drying her hair and had simply pulled it up into a messy tail.

Maybe too casual.

Her fingers tapped restlessly against her leg, trying to work some of the nerves out of her system.

“There you are, Vespa.”

She straightened her posture.

The moment the face appeared on her screen, the words came out from the speakers. The man behind the screen must have been in his mid-forties, sporting a trimmed beard and short, dark hair that framed his sharp features. A pair of squarish spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose, reflecting the light of the monitor in such a way that it was difficult to make out his eyes.

It did not particularly matter, in any case. She had seen enough of Doctor Richard Gamboge while she had been doing work as his research assistant in Atlas to know that the scientist was not pleased.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Professor?” Sand asked, affecting cordiality even if she herself was not particularly thrilled to be holding this meeting. “I already sent all the data from my last outing to you. I assumed a debriefing wouldn’t be necessary.”

“I did receive your data,” he scoffed. “What little there is of it. I expected a lot more from you, Vespa. Do you not understand that we had a chance to examine technology that could affect Grimm movements throughout Remnant? The findings could have completely changed the way we interact with these creatures. Now that it’s in the hands of Vale, the results of the research conducted in Fort Jaeger may well be buried forever.”

Sand recalled the Grimm that still prowled the grounds of the fort, long after the experiments performed there had called horde upon horde of monsters until the whole structure had been overrun, the vast majority of its inhabitants and defenders slaughtered. “That might be for the best,” she commented.

The man shook his head grimly. “I truly hope that is not what the people in charge of studying what remained in the fort come to think. Such is the kind of short-sighted thinking that prevents us from learning from our past mistakes.”

Sand leaned back, sighing. Even if she had her doubts that the doctor’s intentions were as pure as he purported, he was not wrong. From what she had gleaned from his explanations and from what she had seen at the fort, the main goal of the research had been to draw Grimm away from settled areas. Had it worked as intended, the world might have been a very different place.

Nonetheless, she could not give him the last word. “I thought I would just let this lie, but seeing as we’re having this conversation, I might as well. Professor, there were a lot more Grimm in that fort than your briefing suggested.”

“That is not a question. If you simply want to give me excuses, I believe there are enough of those in your report.”

Sand ignored him. “It’s rather suspicious when you consider I also happened to run into a team of Huntsmen while I was there. You told me you were sending me to the fort because the Grimm population had dwindled to a manageable level, but that was a half-truth at best, wasn’t it? The real reason you sent me there with the place still swarming was because you caught wind that plans to retake Fort Jaeger were being put in place and you realized you wouldn’t get a better shot at the tech inside.”

The man grunted. “Watch your tone, Vespa. I have better things to do than gambling with a student’s life. I certainly was not the one who insisted you go alone.”

Sand bit her tongue. Turning it into a solo mission had indeed been her idea, something she had justified to the Professor after the fact by claiming she could move undetected more easily that way. Now, she was not certain she would have been able to do much within the fortress had she not ran into Robert and his team.

“In any case, that is not why I am contacting you,” the man continued.

Sand blinked, surprised and a little wary. What else is there to talk about?

“There is another Atlas transfer that should have arrived at Beacon the same day you did. He goes by the name of Jericho Dylan Piper.”

Ah, right. That was that oddball’s name.

Sand nodded along, already well-aware of this. She had thought his appearance at Beacon a funny coincidence, but having the Professor bring it up quickly roused her suspicion.

“What does that have to do with me?” she asked. “Heart-warming as it would be, I don’t imagine you’re pointing it out because you’re worried I’d feel lonely without familiar faces around.”

The man’s brows knitted over his spectacles. “Where do you even get these ideas? No, of course not. The student in question is in possession of experimental Atlas assets—”

“—and you want me to keep tabs on him?” Sand finished his sentence.

“Precisely.”

She leaned forward, massaging her forehead with a hand. This all sounded extremely shady. More than that, things like these are precisely the reason why I transferred out of Atlas. That made another thought occur to her, one she did not much want to consider. Nonetheless, she had to ask.

“Professor… is this the reason why my transfer was approved?”

The man waved a hand. “Nonsense. That paranoia of yours is really quite something, Vespa, but as much as I would like to claim otherwise, I assure you the timing of your transfer was nothing but a fortunate coincidence.”

Sand allowed herself a breath of relief. Of course, just a coincidence. When you look too deep into anything you start seeing conspiracies everywhere. “And the fact that I was suddenly named team leader had nothing to do with this, then.”

“Ozpin took that suggestion? Interesting.”

Sand felt like an ice cube had been dropped down her neckline. “What?”

“Either way, your transfer was well underway by the time I put your name forth for this role.”

“Wait.” Sand held a hand up, trying to keep the man from moving away from the subject entirely. “How much does Beacon’s Headmaster know about this?”

“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat, clearly irritated by the interruption. “As far as I have been given to understand, Ozpin is fully cognizant of this Piper’s… peculiarities. As for the true purpose of your transfer, there should not be anything linking you directly to the other student, but I imagine he has come to his own conclusions after seeing you.”

Sand had to keep herself from gaping at the screen, so amazed was she by what she had just heard. She felt her teeth begin to grind despite herself. “’The true purpose of my transfer?’ I had no hidden motives for coming here, and I’d prefer you didn’t imply as much. What did you just get me into? That last mission was supposed to be my last task as your assistant. There’s no reason for me to go along with this.”

“That much is true,” the man nodded with some reluctance. “This is not coming from me, but from people higher in the chain of command. You should therefore believe me when I say you would be insane to pass this up. You would be remunerated for your service, not to mention it would be the perfect chance to get your name out to some influential people here at Atlas. If you refuse, someone else will simply be sent in your place.”

“I don’t even remember seeing Jericho in your lab. If you are not involved, why are you trying so hard to force me into this?”

“You were my recommendation, so naturally, if you accept—”

“How much money is involved?”

“I could get my research subsidized for years.”

Sand sighed, falling silent. The man was frustratingly predictable, sometimes. She rested her elbows over the desk and brought her hands together, covering her mouth in an obvious thinking gesture.

This was suspicious. Extremely suspicious, in fact, thanks in no small part to how absurdly shady her former boss was. However, she could not deny that the proposal was interesting. In a way, it would be no more than a part time job she took while she studied, with the potential to net her some important connections later down the line. That was before one considered how curious the whole situation made her. What was so special about Jericho that they needed someone to oversee him?

Her voice was slightly muffled when she spoke again.

“I beg your pardon?”

She lowered her hands. “What would be expected of me if I agreed?”

A smile pulled at the researcher’s lips. “It could not be a simpler job. Largely, your duties would involve keeping watch over the subject. The people in charge seem to want another student’s observations on the Piper’s progress, so yours should prove to be an adequate point of view. Naturally, you are not expected to shadow him every moment of your waking life, as it would likely impair both his, your, and dare I say your new team’s training. It would have been simpler if you could have been assigned to the same team, but that would have been too much of a coincidence, would it not?”

Sand nodded. It was already suspicious enough that the both of them had arrived and began their instruction the same day. “Do my duties end at watching him?”

“No. The subject’s safety is paramount. Atlas has invested a lot on Piper, and it would be one of your duties to defend that investment’s wellbeing.”

“Jericho is a Huntsman-in-training,” Sand drawled. “It’s his job to be in danger.”

The doctor shrugged. “How you perform that duty is up to you. With luck, he will take care of himself on his own and you will never need to step in.”

Sand sighed. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes. Make sure he does not overuse his glove and keeps it in good condition.”

Glove? Are those the assets he mentioned? “Does he know someone will be watching him?”

“I would not be surprised. That said, I would not tell him it is you were I in your shoes, unless you want to trade a relationship between classmates with the relationship of a felon and their parole officer.”

“Is it that kind of relationship?”

The man grew silent at that, clearly understanding what she was truly asking. Just as Sand opened her mouth to repeat the question, the doctor spoke. “A lot of his files are confidential. I can get you what the people in charge deem you need to know if you accept their proposal, but not through these channels.”

Just who the hell is this guy? Sand wondered. “Fine. Tell them I’ll do it.”

“Perfect. I’ll be sure to share the good news.”

“But I have some conditions.”

“Conditions?” he repeated, suddenly wary.

“Right. First, I want a paper trail. A proper contract I can sign. Also, I want to speak with someone actually in charge for this. If I find out this is another legally gray plan to try and steal someone else’s research I swear I will fly back to Atlas to personally punt you off the highest cliff I can find.”

“Another!?” he sputtered. “How dare you suggest I have ever been involved in such schemes?”

“Also, quit stalling and deposit the payment for my last month as your assistant. I know you’re hoping I’ll forget.”

The man’s face was so red for a moment it occurred to her he might pop a blood vessel. “I am not—“

“You hired me to get out of an argument about out-of-place budget expenditures in your laboratory, Professor. People in Atlas still think I was the highest-paid teacher assistant in the school. I’ll continue checking my balance in the meantime. Good night.”

With that, the image of the red-faced scientist froze and fizzled away, replaced by the CCT’s standby display.

Sand let out a long breath. She closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands.

Perhaps… I spoke too loosely there. She may have been irritated, but the professor would not forget the way she had acted. Maybe if she called again, she could smooth it over.

No… no. He won’t forgive me, and I’ll simply look like an idiot.

She detested speaking with Dr. Gamboge. To that day she had trouble deciding whether meeting him had been a stroke of luck, or the worst thing that had happened to her since beginning her training as a Huntress. On the one hand, her ties to the man had allowed her to meet some of the key players in the Atlas research labs and had given her experience in the field to put in her resume, but on the other, this was not the first time one of the Professor’s ‘assignments’ had clashed against her sensibilities. It didn’t help that she utterly detested the man’s character.

She still had to decide what she would do about Jericho. If this job required her to keep an eye on him, the first logical thing to do would be to figure out his schedule. Things would be simpler if she befriended him. She could ask directly about things she should know about if that was the case. If she so wished, she could even approach him directly with her given task and deal with it openly. She had been cautioned not to reveal what she was doing to him, but ultimately that decision rested with her.

Sand grimaced. She hated how manipulative the whole thing felt. For her, picking someone with the intent of befriending them was not something that happened often, or easily for that matter. She preferred when those bonds formed naturally, with little extra effort on her part. Thinking of the alternative often filled her with either trepidation, or a pervasive feeling of lethargy, but never before had the prospect of socializing made her feel disgusted with herself.

It seemed circumstance insisted on pushing her out of her comfort zone.

Perhaps I should just put a bug in his room or clothes. Because that is not highly illegal. Not that she knew where she would get that kind of equipment in Beacon in the first place.

In any case, she would need to make some room in her schedule for this. With a grimace, she recalled what she had told Robert before the two had parted ways. Sparring everyday after practice may not be the greatest idea after all.

She produced her Scroll, thumbing through her newest contacts. She had managed to get ahold of her teammates’ numbers the day before, and soon enough she had brought up Robert’s to the front. She paused, thinking over what she needed to say, before she started typing.

”Hi Robert. Was thinking of a proper schedule for our sparring session. I said everyday after practice, but that is excessive. Fridays are for missions and weekends are for resting. I may not be available other Mondays like today, so we’ll play it by ear. Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays I expect to see you at the Gym after class.”

She eyed what she had written for a few seconds, hesitated, then continued typing.

”You got an assignment this week. You have to find someone and ask them to help you better some aspect of yourself. You need to find yourself some mentors. Next week I’ll ask you if you did it, and if you have no stories for me, we’re training without our auras.”

Send.

Sand closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair. Part of her wondered what had possessed her to make that last demand. She certainly would have found it extremely irritating if someone else randomly decided to dump homework on her.

Case in point, in fact.

Then again, this and that were hardly the same.

Maybe the idea of being in a leadership role was getting to her, but now that she had been named team leader, wanting to do it right was a given. Pushing Robert to better himself was for his and the team’s benefit, she was confident in that. Her eyes opened a sliver. I just hope the others don’t think I’m playing favorites.

The thought struck a sour chord within her, and she looked down at the Scroll still in her hand. She pulled up the addresses of all her teammates and wrote an additional message.

“Heading out to Vale for dinner a bit later. Maybe the team can go together. Join me?”

Satisfied, she sent the text and finally stood to leave.

@Guess Who@Awesomoman64@Plank Sinatra

⚙️ Ferris Grey Solidor
Beacon, After Class ⚙️

^{Tuesday, 16:00}

Well that was a blast. Ferris thought, indulging in some light irony. Practice consisted of little more than an obstacle course and random bits of exercises. Their 'teacher', the chameleon, spent the class in a one on one session with a student Ferris didn't recognize. As a result, the class deteriorated as they tend to do when nobody was keeping an eye on a bunch of bored teenagers.

Not that Ferris really minded too much. He was too deep in through to do more than go through the motions. Early on, he idly pulled out a coin, and repeatedly flipped then caught it, using a smidgen of his semblance to pull it back to him if he missed it or it flew out of easy reach.

He kept this up through the entire obstacle course. When he needed both hands, or as an extra challenge he'd flip it extra high and try to cross the obstacle before it hit the ground, Pulling it back to him regardless of the outcome. He clearly wasn't taking things seriously, and as a result his time was lackluster. (Although decently fast, considering.)

Remarkably, he kept up his coin flipping for almost the entire class. From long practice, he was good at catching it, and the aura used to retrieve a missed coin was miniscule amount.

Class let out after a grindingly slow hour, and not long after it did, Ferris felt his Scroll vibrate. Upon checking it, he found he had an old message from his half brother (which he immediately deleted) and a new one with the information on his team.

Ferris frowned at it. The team thing had been strange ever since he started here, people coming and going, delays and mistakes. But one thing had remained the same. He had been assigned as Captain.

That alone made Ferris wonder if Ozpin had gone senile. Jokingly wonder, mind. The few times Ferris had come across their headmaster, he had been impressed--no, awed by his mind. Ferris couldn't really explain it. If he had to guess, he would say that Ozpin's eyes were old.

Which didn't make sense. Of course they were, he was probably late in his sixties. Plenty of time to gain wisdom, especially since being a Hunter was an inherently dangerous job. Old Hunters were wise hunters. So why did Ferris get such a strange feeling from him?

Ferris shrugged off that line of thought. The man was a legend, after all. He could just be a little star-struck.

With one dexterous hand, he rapped out a quick message and sent it to all three members of his team:

Rendezvous at main courtyard by NE fountain in ten minutes. We need to meet up before missions.

And that was it. Short and to the point. That was him. Anything else generally was an act.

---

He cut through a few shortcuts, hopped a building with a few coins and his semblance, and made it to the designated spot in five minutes, easily the first one there. Good. Had to set an example.

That boring-ass class had only made him more restless and read for some real action. He was hoping that mission work would scratch that itch. But first, he needed to know who he would be working with. He had already met one of them. The loudly dressed girl, who's name escaped him. But the other two were unknown. He hoped to familiarities himself with their weapons, semblances, and skills, before he had to work together with them. Teamwork was critical.

Seeing as no one else was there yet, Ferris pulled out a small book, hopped up on the fountain's rim, and began to read.

@NaraK@Caasicam@harinezumikouken

@Forsythe

Post-Dust Apps

It's pretty clear that the lass in front of me really doesn't get why she's being punished. Worrying about dangers she could run into as a Hunter is all bloody well and good, but that's not the important thing here, you know? There's an unspoken agreement between humans that allows our society to function, and that's not to try and randomly chib each other out of nowhere. Indulging in some bampot desire to try and blow up something in another brat's hands, all outta curiosity, isn't conducive to that. At all.

But, that's not even on her mind. She's just clarting on about another way people could hurt her.

"Dust reacts to human will," I say. It's a repeat of what I went over in class, but seeing that the brat can't connect the dots by herself, I'll entertain her for a tad. It doesn't seem like her noggin'd be open to the actual problem if she's still scared of this bairn of a thing. "It doesn't matter whose. Any dobber with aura can catalyse a Dust reaction if they wanted to. Or not catalyse one, if they didn't want to."

Dust is just a crystallisation of nature's infinite power. It's nice to think we have absolute control over it, especially if we've papped it into our bodies, but that's a reassuring little illusion we like to give ourselves. Even with all the power we've scraped together, humanity's not so all-powerful that we have absolute mastery over the elements. That's not how the world works. Maybe you might think it's unfair, but that's just arrogance speaking. When we make use of Dust, we accept the risks. It doesn't care who's responsible for the activation, just whether or not it will be activated.

"If Schwarz didn't want the Dust to activate, it wouldn't have," I continue. "If you wanted to nudge the Dust in my pocket to blow right now, that's possible. But my will for it not to would be there too. You'd need a shocker amount of aura to overcome me not wanting a huge hole in my dress."

Luke Schwarz was unlikely to have gotten that hurt. But that doesn't mean everything's hunky-dory, does it?

"At the start of the semester, the Schnee heiress - she's in your year - had a good chunk of her Dust poof into air thanks to another student. Completely on accident. That's the 'foreign activation' you're scared of, isn't it? Miss Schnee got careless, and somebody was able to catalyse a reaction before she could respond in time." Nobody had gotten too hurt. It was just a tickie of a thing, the result of the Atlesian lass not being quick enough on the draw. Not thinking that somebody would accidentally set off her collection. "You avoid that by being more careful. There's a reason Dust is called 'Nature's Wrath', you know? It's volatile. And when you use it as a Hunter, you have to be ready to accept the risks."

But, that doesn't excuse her actions. By participating in the demonstration, both of the brats accepted the risks involved with Dust usage. That's a given. They're coming here to Beacon to become Hunters, after all. Except that also means that they shouldn't try and hurt each other for no good reason. Curiosity is no good reason. This is a career where, ideally, you should be able to trust your colleague with your back.

"But in any case, 'seeing if it could be done' isn't, at all, a good reason for trying to blow your classmate up," I continue bluntly. My eyes laser in on hers. "Being willing to hurt a classmate for something that you could've asked me for is wrong. It's unacceptable behaviour. Do you understand why?"

@Slime@Silvan Haven@Ayazi

Gratia Mindaro - Mall

"Avoid department stores for your first choice," said Gratia, her tone still unchanging even as she slid into an impromptu lesson. "The chains will fucking gouge you out of house and home for shit that's barely worth the price."

The Mistralese girl was scanning the area as they walked, taking note of the storefronts. As was her habit, she was looking for an op shop, the first place that she would buy from. While budget was far from an issue, given that Venetia's purse sagged harder than an arthritic's balls from the weight of her money, she was in the unfortunate position of teaching illiterates how to shop, with one also being two steps removed from a fashion disaster.

"Always begin with an idea of what you want," she continued. "If you go in like some drooling retard, you're more than likely to be savaged by shop assistants seeking to drain your purse of everything it contains."

@Crimmy@Slime@Ayazi



"Huh." They were those simple bits of wisdom that made perfect sense when you heard them but that a newcomer might not have immediately realized. Beryl's personal experience with shopping was limited to supermarkets and bargain stores so having somebody else to show her the ropes of more mainstream establishments was extremely nice. She glanced over at the newest member of the team, wondering what his thoughts on being in a place like this was. He was probably familiar with such locations if his clothes were any indication.

"So where are you from, Silver?"

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Ayazi

Silver Applegate - Vale-Shopping Mall

Silver was surprised to find out that his last teammate was also a girl. He didn't deny such a possibility, of course, but now he'd have to take some precautions on his daily life. "I'll have to knock on the door every time I enter our room. The bathroom especially." He took mental notes. He was also surprised by the SUV's equipment, but he'd leave his curiosity on it for later. Right now it was time to go shopping!

Silver looked around the place in search for anything that would catch his eye. Gratia's advice on how to shop for clothes hit him in a rather sensitive spot. He couldn't just come out and say that he followed a shop assistant's advice on what to wear when he bought the clothes he had with him. Instead he nodded and acted naturally.

Beryl turned her attention to Silver, asking where he was from. "I was born and raised in Atlas. This is actually my first time visiting another kingdom, in fact."

As she went down the halls, she took a look at her Scroll as she checked a message sent to her.

Skidding to a halt, Yun stared at the message as she squinted. It was from the "Ferris" guy.

The fountain?

Putting up a thoughtful look, Yun tried to remember if she had ever paid attention enough to see a fountain passing by her. She quickly did, so she perked up and started heading over to the fountain's direction. As she hurried her pace up, she made sure not to bump into anyone.

She decided she'd make it by six minutes! It'd be a decent impression, not being late and all.

That was, until she bumped into a boy accompanied by a girl. They seemed pretty normal.

"Excuse me, do you know where the Grimm Studies lecture room would be from here? A friend of mine said he left his notebook there."

Yun froze up as she put up a thoughtful look. She knew where the Grimm Studies classroom was... technically. Rather, she only knew the general direction of it because some of the students she talked to earlier headed there. "I, uh," she began, trying to remember which classroom it exactly was. "You know what, I can show you really quickly!"

As the two students thanked her, she bit the bottom of her lip as she led them along. Things suddenly got a bit slower than she expected.

I hope I can still make it on time, she thought worriedly.

She led the two students down the hall. Time ticked, minute by minute.

The minutes passed like fresh watermelons in a farm sale.

Five minutes passed.

A blue blur rushed down the halls at breakneck speed as Yun pumped her arms rapidly, clenching her teeth.

Six minutes her butt! At this rate, she'd have to start worrying about making the ten minute mark. Activating her Semblance, she leapt over a corner full of students- some of who turned to watch her run down the halls- as she hoped she could at least make it around the six to seven minute mark.

Eventually, within the seven minute mark, Yun skidded into the fountain, almost tripping as she slowed herself down. Her running transitioning to an awkward walk, her gaze looked around for a face that could belong to a scary person and a leader. Her image of leaders wasn't exactly... the norm, but hey, her assumptions aren't meant to be harmful.

Her eyes fell upon a young man reading a book by the fountain.

Not a tacky comic book. Not a fashion mag. Not anything that looked like it'd contain lots of pictures, whether it be interesting or lively.

A simple book.

Cripes, she thought in horror. He's reading a book.

This man was already nothing like her cousins.

He still looked nice, though.

By nice, she didn't mean by personality- she hadn't even talked to him yet. But his looks weren't as ferocious as she thought her leader could've been.

A good start! So far, at least, she thought, walking up to him.

Plopping onto the fountain's rim, Yun turned to the boy,

"Heya! You're 'Ferris', right?"

_{@Crimson Raven}

@Crimmy@Slime@Ayazi



Another kid from Atlas. Beryl briefly wondered if he and Jer-kun knew each other before deciding that they probably didn't. Not unless their newest teammate was also a super secret spy guy. She cast a sidelong glance at him as they moved through the store. He certainly didn't look like one, but that was kind of the point wasn't it? Can't be a secret agent if you look like one.

"Hey Gratia, what about that one?" The young huntress called out as a shop caught her eye. It was a smaller clothing shop that, while not exclusively, seemed to primarily cater to a female clientele.

⚙️ Ferris Grey Solidor
Beacon, Courtyard ⚙️

^{Tuesday, 16:07}

Ferris sensed someone's approach, but only looked up when he heard his name called out. Before him was a girl he recognized from the information he received on his team, including a picture. Although the picture didn't do her justice. She was of medium height, built like a runner, and shapely in a way that the beacon-issued uniform completely failed to hide. She had long, dark windblown hair that might have been orderly once, before it's owner had been running around, framing a fairly pretty face with cheerful, bright blue eyes that matched the various shades of blue and white that seemed to make up her color scheme.

Her name was...uh...Su-Yeon. Su-Yeon Kang. What an interesting name.

His assessment of her made a brief but notable pause before he spoke. "Most of the time." He replied with a faint smile. He smoothly swung his legs down and stood up, simultaneously dog-earing the page he was on and tucking the slim paperback into a pocket on the inside of his white coat, which he wore over his uniform. (Frowned upon by the dress code, but no one had said anything yet.) Upon standing he found he was about a head taller than her. "I believe yours is Su-Yeon Kang?" He asked, stumbling a bit over the pronunciation. His mouth didn't quit like the shapes of the syllables he was forcing them to make.

@NaraK